Anki today announced the debut of two new cars and two new tracks for its iPhone-compatible Anki Drive slot car racing game. Joining the existing four cars are Hadion and Corax, new characters that focus on speed and weaponry, respectively.

ankicars

Designed by Anki and Hollywood legend Harald Belker, Corax and Hadion are the newest characters available for Anki DRIVE. Hadion is built for speed and is the only car that can access Turbo Boost, which enables you to fly incredibly fast down the track. Corax is the ultimate warrior, with the option to mount multiple weapons. Watch out, he's an aggressive one!

First introduced in 2013 during Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference, Anki Drive is a unique racing game that Anki describes as a "video game in the real world." Similar to slot car racing, Anki Drive incorporates artificial intelligence, machine learning, and smartphone-based controls, allowing two players to shoot at one another while their cars autonomously race down a vinyl track.

Each of Anki's cars have their own unique name, personality, look, and statistics. While some of them offer greater acceleration speeds, others have more energy or better weaponry. The two released today expand on the abilities of the existing cars, offering Turbo Boost (Hadrion) and multiple mounted weapons (Corax).

Along with the new cars, Anki is also introducing two new tracks: Crossroads and Bottleneck. Crossroads offers hard corners and a challenging intersection that requires solid timing and maneuvering skills, while Bottleneck introduces a bottleneck shape that must be overcome.

crossroadstrack
There's also a brand new Race Mode in the Anki Drive app, which joins the existing Battle Mode. Weaponry is still available and the goal is to make it to the finish line first, beating out other players or AI-controlled cars.

Anki's new cars can both be purchased today from the Anki website for $69.99 each, and the new tracks will be available on May 6 for $99. The original Anki starter kit can also be purchased from the Anki website for $199.

The accompanying Anki Drive app can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Tag: Anki

Top Rated Comments

keysofanxiety Avatar
146 months ago
Why is everybody so pessimistic? :confused: It's pretty cool technology and just a bit of fun. Stop being so miserable. :p
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Demon Hunter Avatar
146 months ago
These forums are strange. You'd think they would be visited by people who actually interested by innovative applications of technology like Bluetooth, artificial intelligence and emerging wireless game platforms.

What you get instead is a bunch of luddites who, from an apparent lack of disposable income, feel the need to make disparaging comments on an internet forum. Not only that, they'd rather not see the company that innovated succeed by charging for more than a cast-iron toy car made in China...

Please...


Hot wheels + video game = crazy expensive toy cars whose only value is that they can act out a racing game that's lacking in content (if you dish out $680, you get 3 tracks and 6 cars. I can't think of any other racing game that has so little content nor any other game that costs even 1/8th of that price. Heck, there are very few toys that cost half of that).
If you watched the keynote and/or actually read this MR article, Anki incorporates some very advanced AI and machine learning concepts which are pushing the envelopes and even the understanding of what constitutes a "video game." This is nothing like a mechanized hot wheels track, at all.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GeneralChang Avatar
146 months ago
<< this is how you actually learn.

Okay, but what if the kid doesn’t want to spend their childhood learning how to be a hardware of software engineer? What if they just wanted, you know, a toy?
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xPad Avatar
146 months ago
True techie loves to build things on their own, they rather not having somebody else build their toys for them.
Rubbish. There's all kinds. Quite trying to redefine words centered around yourself.

If you'd like to see your son play with something that's "actually" going to challenge him to write program and think logically. I'd actually recommend Lego Mindstorm (if money isn't a issue), or simply spend $100 to get the Arduino board plus everything else you need. << this is how you actually learn.
Or how about people buy things they like, and you buy things you like?

This idea that you have to do things your way or they aren't a "true techie" or aren't going to learn, explore, or enjoy themselves, is nonsense.

C'mon now!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
xPad Avatar
146 months ago
Maybe it's just me but I don't see a market for this. The technology is cool and impressive indeed but only so many adults wanting to geek out over iOS will want to buy this.

Why does it need anything more than that?

No one is expecting this to be in every house. You may as well tell Wacom not to bother, since most people won't want a tablet input device.

As long as they make more money than they spend, and people get a chance to buy and enjoy the product, what's the problem?

Kids has hot wheels already and don't need a phone to begin to dictate their imagination. If kids wanna slowly race, I'd imagine they already have a video game system and mountains of toys nearby.

I'm not aware of anything about this product that precludes using other toys and apps.

Not interested in this, just like how I got over it seconds after seeing it introduced during the keynote.

And there it is. Instead of just being content with not wanting it yourself, you seem compelled to tell everyone else why no one should want it. :rolleyes:

----------

$69 for a car? Wow, I could buy like FOUR Tyco slot car kits for that, in 1985.
How is that even an argument?

How many AI-powered cars could you buy in 1985?

I mean, hell, an iPhone for $399? I could buy SIX Panasonic cordless phones in 1988 for that!
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
146 months ago
I think the one thing people are not saying, is the price. It sure it's creative and cool. But I'm sorry it is not $69 or $200, cool. Try to sell it for $50-$100 for the entire kit maybe people will actually buy in.

You have a point, but boy do MacRumours' members love to moan. So negative all the time, it's depressing. Cheer up, guys. :D
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Watch Ultra Night Mode Screen

Apple Watch Ultra 3 Launching Later This Year With Two Key Upgrades

Wednesday July 2, 2025 1:13 pm PDT by
The long wait for an Apple Watch Ultra 3 appears to be nearly over, and it is rumored to feature both satellite connectivity and 5G support. Apple Watch Ultra's existing Night Mode In his latest Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that the Apple Watch Ultra 3 is on track to launch this year with "significant" new features, including satellite connectivity, which would let you...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Max Battery Capacity Leaked

Thursday July 3, 2025 5:40 am PDT by
The iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature the biggest ever battery in an iPhone, according to the Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post, the leaker listed the battery capacities of the iPhone 11 Pro Max through to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and added that the iPhone 17 Pro Max will feature a battery capacity of 5,000mAh: iPhone 11 Pro Max: 3,969mAh iPhone 12 Pro Max: 3,687mAh...
iPhone 17 Pro in Hand Feature Lowgo

iPhone 17 Pro Coming Soon With These 14 New Features

Friday July 4, 2025 1:05 pm PDT by
Apple's next-generation iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are just over two months away, and there are plenty of rumors about the devices. Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models. Latest Rumors These rumors surfaced in June and July:Apple logo repositioned: Apple's logo may have a lower position on the back of the iPhone 17 Pro models, compared to previous...
iPhone 17 Pro Lower Logo Magsafe

iPhone 17 Pro's New MagSafe Design Revealed in Leaked Photo

Wednesday July 2, 2025 8:37 am PDT by
The upcoming iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are rumored to have a slightly different MagSafe magnet layout compared to existing iPhone models, and a leaked photo has offered a closer look at the supposed new design. The leaker Majin Bu today shared a photo of alleged MagSafe magnet arrays for third-party iPhone 17 Pro cases. On existing iPhone models with MagSafe, the magnets form a...
airpods pro 2

AirPods Pro 3 to Help Maintain Apple's Place in Earbud Market Amid Increasing Low-Cost Competition

Thursday July 3, 2025 7:25 am PDT by
Apple's position as the dominant force in the global true wireless stereo (TWS) earbud market is expected to continue through 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. The forecast outlines a 3% year-over-year increase in global TWS unit shipments for 2025, signaling a transition from rapid growth to a more mature phase for the category. While Apple is set to remain the leading brand by...
Wi Fi WiFi General Feature

iOS 26 Adds a Useful New Wi-Fi Feature to Your iPhone

Wednesday July 2, 2025 6:36 am PDT by
iOS 26 and iPadOS 26 add a smaller yet useful Wi-Fi feature to iPhones and iPads. As spotted by Creative Strategies analyst Max Weinbach, sign-in details for captive Wi-Fi networks are now synced across iPhones and iPads running iOS 26 and iPadOS 26. For example, while Weinbach was staying at a Hilton hotel, his iPhone prompted him to fill in Wi-Fi details from his iPad that was already...
iOS 18

Apple Releases Second iOS 18.6 Public Beta

Tuesday July 1, 2025 10:19 am PDT by
Apple today seeded the second betas of upcoming iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 updates to public beta testers, with the betas coming just a day after Apple provided the betas to developers. Apple has also released a second beta of macOS Sequoia 15.6. Testers who have signed up for beta updates through Apple's beta site can download iOS 18.6 and iPadOS 18.6 from the Settings app on a compatible...